#PositiveVibes - Recovery

By John R. Nocero

Recently, I am sitting on my home office trying to get an Excel formula to work. Kel yells up from the bottom of the stairs, “John. Come down and eat. It will be there when you get done. Then go back up to it.”

 Sure. It will be there. As will the failure in my mind for not figuring this out. Now, old John would have stayed there and hammered at it until he got it, no matter how long it took. But this John said, “you know Kel, you are right. Let me step away just for a bit.?” I stepped away and went downstairs. I pet my dog. I sat down, enjoyed a dish of tuna noodle casserole, Julie Kotter-inspired no doubt. I had a nice conversation with her. And then.

 “Kel, I have to go upstairs. I think I figured out what was wrong.” She says, “have at it, gangster.”

 I sat down and within 5 minutes. I had it working. The break was exactly what I needed.

 I am constantly amazed by the parallels in business and in life. Everyone always might want a little bit more - more money, fancier title – but are not willing to do the work to achieve it. During my first compliance job, there were many late nights at the office, many tears cried out of frustration and pride and many moments of self-doubt. But I persevered, learned and in time the knowledge came.

 Now, the knowledge comes but in a different way. It is listening to my body. When I am tired I stop and I come back to it. Work is like exercise now. It is not the workout that pains me, it is the ability to recover from it. If I can do 500 pushups today, and it doesn’t affect my routine tomorrow and I still feel fresh, great. I recovered. Too many of those days in a row though, and you are left with a negative surplus. On those days, walk a mile, have a protein shake, let your mind recover. Same with work. Too many 12-hour days in a row will leave you spent. You need to recover.

 There are some people who may characterize other’s achievements as being only fortunate or lucky. What they do not see are the long hours it took to get there – the years of hard work and failure that often predicate individual success. An overnight success is generally achieved in about 10 years. You sacrifice far greater than you get back, because you are focused on doing something. You are not planning, you are taking action. Action offends the inactive. It is not uncommon for people to underestimate how much time, work and recovery are necessary. Anyone who is interested in doing something great should sit down and think about what it is they want to achieve. Then work hard, remain patient and plan carefully. Prepare yourself for the long haul. You'll never know the way until you start walking it. Then you see it.